Australian Open as an Advertising Platform for Illegal Gambling

Offshore casinos used the Australian Open 2026 to promote illegal services to Australian audiences — through tournament logos, photos of tennis players, and influencers.

How offshore operators use the Australian Open

🔵 Vegastars — an illegal offshore casino — ran a giveaway on Instagram with tournament tickets and a $ 500 flight voucher

🔵 The post received 2,500 comments, including from Australian users

🔵 The promo used the Australian Open logo without any affiliation with the tournament

🔵 At least three other illegal sites also used the tournament logo and photos of tennis players in their promotions

🔵 Another 10 sites launched Australian Open-themed campaigns

Influencers as a promotion channel

🔴 Offshore operator Rainbet was promoted by an Australian influencer — the video gained 40,000 views

🔴 ACMA had warned influencers about the ban on promoting illegal services back in June 2025

🔴 The video was removed two days after a request from Guardian Australia

🔴 Rainbet is accessible to Australian users via VPN

Scale of the offshore market

🔵 $ 3.9 billion — the volume of online betting by Australians through offshore operators in 2024

🔵 $ 7 billion — the volume of the local online gambling market during the same period

🔵 The offshore segment accounts for more than one-third of the legal market

Regulator

🔴 ACMA has blocked 220 illegal services across 1,455 websites since 2019

🔴 Offshore operators bypass blocks by changing URLs — the regulator blocks them, and operators immediately return

🔴 Experts suggest payment blocking, following the models of Germany and Norway, as a more effective tool

🔴 No decision has been made yet

Conclusion

Offshore operators promote illegal services through legal infrastructure: tournament branding, photos of stars, and influencer reach. The audience sees familiar images and does not question the legality of the platform.

The regulator responds selectively: blocking websites, warning influencers, and investigating violations. But the speed of response still lags behind the speed at which new schemes appear.